JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #34 - July/August 2007 - 28

FEATURE “Automotive” More information Menzolit, a split of the former Menzolit-Fibron group, specialises in the development, marketing and sales of compounds such as SMC (sheet moulding compound), BMC (bulk moulding compounds) and CIC (continuous impregnated compound). These materials are fibre-reinforced thermosets that are compression, injection or injectioncompression moulded. Menzolit has a central R&D laboratory in Vineuil, France, with facilities to develop, mould and test the compounds. SMC is produced in Menzolit’s four plants in France, Italy, Spain and the UK. BMC is produced in France, Italy and the UK; and CIC, only in France. The company serves major tier-one suppliers and OEM’s in Europe. g…/… Changing demands for composites in the automotive industry developments. Finally, the on-line paintability of SMC is used more and more to get a perfect colour match in hybrid solutions with steel or aluminium. Modern processing requirements OEM’s also have increased their quality and cost requirements, and a modern part-manufacturing process has to fulfil those criteria. As a result, several part manufacturers have invested in fully automated production lines that handle the SMC or BMC from the start of the process up to the final primed part that goes into E-coat and ESTA (electrostatic) painting afterwards. In terms of research & development and production, this means more accurate processing control so that the robots can use the material. This applies to both SMC compression moulding and BMC injection moulding. This also requires increasing the packaging weight of materials, especially that of SMC rolls. From a standard packaging used in the industry, Menzolit was the first to implement the Jumbo roll, carrying up to six times more material than the commonly used rolls. Modern chains processing SMC parts for exterior applications are based either on a complete product flow after moulding through a primer station, to ensure better paint adhesion afterwards and create surface conductivity for the electrostatic painting process, or on total off-line painting together with other plastic fascia parts such as bumpers. For many OEM’s, however, on-line painting is an easy way to optimise the colour and surface structure match between the SMC parts and the other steel or aluminium parts on the bodyin-white during ESTA online painting. The extremely high drying/curing temperatures of the E-coat require the SMC part to withstand a temperature of 200°C for at least 45 minutes without deformation, bonding structure or surface appeal. Menzolit developed special materials for this application, the SMC 0400 compounds, which have been homologated and are in use at several OEM’s. The integration of functions is achieved not only by integrating parts and functions into the mould (which requires excellent flow properties of the material), but also after moulding. SMC parts are transparent to antenna waves. New vehicles like DaimlerChrysler’s CL or the new Volkswagen EOS have antennas integrated into the inner decklid side so they are not visible, but are fully functional. Antennas for radio, mobile phone, door opening system, GPS and others are integrated here. Many improvements have also been implemented in the injection moulding process. Fully automated lines mould the parts, demould them, clean them and then send them to priming and metallizing for extremely nice-looking headlamp reflectors. Clear polycarbonate windows have replaced glass on headlamps, so that the scattering area is now in the reflector instead of the glass, and the parts have to be very accurate in dimensions and have a very low elongation at high temperature. As they are visible from the outside through the transparent polycarbonate, perfect surface quality is required too. Menzolit offers a compound meeting all those demands for modern reflectors: BMC 3100. To reduce the production cost of headlamps, recent development has involved attempts to avoid the primer step. A special BMC compound has been developed to ensure good anchorage of the metallization directly on the unprimed finished part. Legal and environmental requirements To meet the legal and environmental requirements for parts, Menzolit had to take into account several aspects: emission, fogging and smell for meeting CARB 2000, further weight reduction for better fuel consumption, and the EU regulation on end-of-life vehicles (ELV), achieving eco-balance, and recycling. The implementation of the VDA and CARB (California Air Resources Board) emission standards required drastic changes to the formulations to meet the low emission demands of the individual part and of the whole vehicle according to the CARB regulation. In co-operation with the raw-material supplier, an acceptable level was achieved. Fogging was also reduced by eliminating certain raw materials, and smell was drastically reduced by changing the organic materials used in the formulation. To save even more weight versus steel, low-density materials were homologated at the OEM’s and are now used in the new Mercedes-Benz CL decklid. Under the bonnet, SMC 1400, BMC 1400 and CIC 1400 are used more and more for valve covers, oil sumps and carburettor housings, because of their improved strength and temperature performance compared to thermoplastic JEC Composites Magazine / No34 July-August 2007

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #34 - July/August 2007

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